The present invention is related to the use of ultrasound to sort weanlings based on predicted meat quality at harvest. More specifically, this invention is related to an ultrasound method, and apparatus, which improves the sorting of weanlings and the ability to predict carcass meat quality, particularly the tenderness of the meat.
It has long been the desire of meat producers to predict the eventual meat quality at an early age. Particularly, it has been the desire to determine meat quality early enough to allow the producer to optimize the herd for maximum financial return.
Carcass measurement has long been practiced in the art. Carcass testing can provide valuable information utilizing pattern recognition procedures to insure that the available meat is optimized. While carcass measurements are advantageous, it eliminates the possibility of utilizing exemplary specimens in breeding programs or of extending harvest time for maximum financial gain. Some specimens may return a higher financial return if allowed to develop slightly longer or the financial return may be higher if slaughter is expedited. Any form of carcass testing eliminates further optimization of the financial return or of meat quality. Exemplary references disclosing the use of carcass measurements include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,603,303; 4,099,420; 4,758,817; 5,303,708; 6,099,473 and 5,079,951.
Presently, in the beef industry, ultrasound technology is not used to evaluate seed stock cattle for carcass merit until approximately one year of age. The prior thought has been that cattle needed to achieve at least this level of physiological maturity to adequately evaluate meat quality. However, if seed stock cattle could be reasonably evaluated at the time of weaning, substantial economic impact could result. There are no current methods in place to determine potential tenderness in standing cattle. The National Cattlemen""s Beef Assocation (NCBA) has identified tenderness problems of beef as one of the major contributors to customer dissatisfaction. The ability to determine potential tenderness of a carcass via live animal ultrasound could tremendously enhance genetic selection and ultimately the uniformity of the beef.
It is now standard practice to fatten the entire herd of cattle prior to harvest. This is costly and could result in fattening of inferior specimens which could return a loss or insufficient profit to justify the expense. The current methods of testing typically measure the size of the longissimus dorsi muscle as well as the internal and external fat content just prior to harvest. These methods are not applicable prior to completion of the full regiment of feed since these parameters are a direct result of the feed program. Even if the size is optimum and the fat content is optimum the meat may still be tough. It would be a major advantage if the meat quality could be evaluated prior to the expense of feeding cattle for harvest.
Size measurement techniques, wherein the size or shape of the longissimus dorsi muscle, or ribeye, is determined are legion in number. The size of the longissimus dorsi muscle relative to the fat thickness, or total weight, is correlated to meat yield but not necessarily meat quality parameters such as tenderness. Measurements of muscle size, or shape, utilizing ultrasound techniques are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,496,764; 4,359,055; 4,359,066, 6,012,332; 5,520,183; 5,353,796; 5,339,815; 5,960,105 and 5,914,825. These techniques are only useful just prior to harvest since the amount of fat is clearly a function of the feeding regiment and meat quality includes additional parameters.
Indirect methods of determining meat quality based on the fat content, or by correlation to a panel of human analyst, have been described yet these are still not predictive of future meat quality parameters such as tenderness. Exemplary disclosures are provide in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,685,307; 5,208,747 and 5,625,147.
The physical transducer, methods of insuring proper placement, and signal processing procedures for standing cattle just prior to harvest are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,836,880; 5,872,314; 6,170,335; 5,316,003; 5,573,002 and 6,167,759. None of the cited references can provide a predictive measurement of meat quality early in the life cycle of the specimen. Specifically, there is not available in the art a system which provides the ability to measure cattle at weaning to predict the future quality parameters such as tenderness.
Even with the advanced nature of the art there is still a desire to predict, preferably at weaning, the eventual tenderness of the meat. Heretofore, this has eluded those of exemplary skill in the art.
There has been a long felt desire in the art for a non-invasive measurement technique, and apparatus therefore, which will allow for the predictive determination of meat tenderness and other properties related to meat quality thereby allowing for optimized financial return and improved quality of the beef early in the life cycle of the cattle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for predicting meat quality of cattle early in-the life cycle thereby increasing the return at harvest.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for determining the quality of meat, specifically tenderness, prior to harvest. More preferably, the tenderness can be determined at weaning thereby allowing herd discrimination to be practiced.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and system which can allow for accurate prediction of meat quality with standing cattle thereby allowing exemplary specimen to be recognized prior to harvest. A particular advantage is the ability to utilize exemplary specimen in breeding programs which can increase the overall value of the herd and return on the investment.
These and other advantages, as will be realized from the teachings herein are provide in a method for categorizing cattle by meat quality. The method comprises obtaining an ultrasound measurement of a cattle specimen between the 12th rib and 13th at weaning age. The ultrasound measurement is utilized to extrapolate a harvest quality parameter. Based on the harvest quality parameter, and preferably a yield grade, the specimen is categorized. Particularly preferred harvest quality parameters are ribeye area, fat thickness, intramuscular fat and ribeye shape.
Another embodiment of the present invention is provided in a method for categorizing cattle by meat quality. The method comprises obtaining an ultrasound measurement of a cattle specimen at a location of approximately xc2xe of the length of a longissimus dori muscle between the 12th, or last, rib and 1st lumbar. Tenderness is determined based on the ultrasound measurement and the specimen is categorized by the tenderness. In a particularly preferred embodiment the tenderness is determined by the angle of connective tissue deposition in a longissimus dorsi muscle. In another preferred embodiment the tenderness is proportional to the connective tissue thickness.
Yet another embodiment is provided in a process for predicting meat tenderness in an animal. The process comprises the steps of a) obtaining a longitudinal ultrasound measurement of a longissimus dorsi muscle; b) determining the angle of the connective in the longissimus dorsi muscle relative to the centerline of the animal; and c) assigning a tenderness based on the angle of the connective tissue.
Yet another embodiment is provided in a system for predicting meat tenderness wherein the system comprises an ultrasound system for obtaining an image of a longissimus dorsi muscle and a measurement device for determining an angle of connective tissue in the longissimus dorsi muscle from the image.